Mount Kili and Tingatinga

Last weekend, we spent a day and a half in the town of Moshi, which is at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.  The mountain is the tallest in Africa, at around 19,000 feet, and its peak is usually hidden by clouds.  The days we were there, though, the sky was clear and the view was spectacular.  This is actually a bad thing.  The clouds shade the snow at the peak and protect it from melting too much.  The slow snow melt and other precipitation provides water to the area.  I have been told that there are fewer clouds now than in the past because of deforestation and climate change, resulting in less snow on the mountain than at the same time of year 50, 40, or even 20 years ago.

 

Gloomy thoughts aside, we enjoy Moshi.  It is a walkable  size, is less intense than Arusha,  and has several restaurants that appeal to Westerners.  This time of year, the poinciana trees are in lush bloom, covered with red-orange flowers.  The town also has a small concentration of artists, and we wanted to spend extra time this trip to explore what they had to offer.

We started by going to a shop we had seen back in August, when we were too overloaded with baggage to consider a single extra purchase.  This time, we hoped to pick up something  to brighten the walls of our little house.  Tanzania is famous for Tingatinga-style paintings, which are cheerful, primitive, and very appealing.  We went to the shop we had remembered and found that it and its neighbors have formed an association of artists.  There are 4 or 5 shops in a row, and the artists themselves work in the same building complex behind the storefronts.  We spoke to them, and ended up buying several pieces of art.  We are delighted with our purchases, and I'm sure the artists are delighted we stopped by.